Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-04-07
N" on Henry George and Taxation.

N" on Henry George and Taxation.
Henry George says there is one les
son that society is constantly DINING
in our ears and the ears of our children
-"get money; get it honestly if you
can but at any rate get money" 50 ev-
cry one is suspected of mercenary mo-
tives, and tx" tries to disarm this
suspicion by saying that he is not a
land owner, and by saying that am
a landowner. The truth is that logic,
and our fealty to facts, will better dem
onstrate our sincerity, and uprightness
Of purpose, than any asseveration we
can make about ourselves, or our posi-
ton.
In his fret column "X' implies that
George is socialist and couples his
teaching with red flags and commun-
ism. / will challenge any AMI every
anti-George man to put his finger on
one line of his numerous works in
which George approves of socialism or
communism. He treats all propositions
to better the condition of his fellowmen
with respect; does admit that commun-
ism under the Incas produced state
of society that we have tired in vain 10
attain to; that the Jesuit priests in
Paraguay long maintained socialism
that was an honor t. them. j shall
perhaps, anticipate ok" in quoting
from George on socialism, but for that
matter he can touch nothing that
George has not already examined. L
quote from page 2S7, Progress and
Poverty. GAS to the truths that are
involved i'm sOcialistic ideas | shall have
something to say hereafter; but it is
evident that whatever savOrs OF regu-
Iatlon and restriction is in itself bad,
and should not be resorted to if any
other mode of accomplishing the same
end presents itself. For instance, take
one of the simplest and mildest of the
class of measures / refer to-a gradual
ed xOn incomes. The object at which
it aims, the reduction or prevention of
immense concentrations of wealth, is
good: but the means involves the en-
pIoyment of a large number of officials:
clothed with inquisitorial powers
temptations to bribery, and perjury,
and all other means of evasion, which
beeet Decentralization of opinion, and
put premium upon unscrupulousness,
and tax upon conscience; and finally,
Just in proportion as the tax accom-
plishes ITS effects, lessening in the in
centiye 10 the accumulation of wealth,
which is one of the strong forces OF III
dustrial progress" Now on page 23o:
awe have passed out of the socialism
of the tribal state and cannot re-enterlt
again, except by a retrogression that
would involve anarchy and perhaps
barbarism. Our governments, as is al
ready plainly evident, would break
down in the attempt. Instead OF an
intelligent award of duties and earn
inps, we should have Roman distri-
button of Sicilian cora. aud the dema-
eogue would soon become the imper-
ator."
shall leave the next paragraph for
fX" to quote in order to prove that
George is socialist; but | would ad- !
wise him to think twice before he quotes
it once.
AS men became more intelligent, Y" |
says. they made private property OF
hand. He is unfortunate historically. |
AS men were compelled to cease rob-
bling by force and arms they resorted to
cunning. Instead of arbitrarily seizing |
the products of labor they artfully an
ticipated il by Selling its resources. All
through his articles ''N'' desires to con
vey the impression that men get the
ownership of land only in accordance
with their needs. The truth is that
most of the land in civilized countries is
not held by men who desire to work,
but by men who desire to prevent'it
from being worked until necessity COM
pels non-landowners to come 20 land
owners and buy their chance to work
and to live. The assertion that every
citizen of the United States under our
present system, could become land
owner, and that thrift, and saving,
would soon give him the means OF pur
chase. is SO silly that it requires an ex
ercise of some patience to treat such an
assertion with serious respect. Reform
all your drunkards, and make all the
spendthrifts thrifty, aud real estate. as
we call it, royal estate as we should call
it, would take a boom in anticipation of
an increased number of buyers that
would induce more 10 sell than would
be able to buy, and the result wonld
be lessening instead of an increase III
the number of land owners. Indeed
this is just what is taking place now in 1:
the great centers of population. Incur
pational metropolis where population
ID denser thar anywhere else in the
world, so dense that there are miles of ,
streets, that if, during business hours, I
an earthquake should brighten the 9
people into the streets they would Lave /